The Met II

We are still roaming around The Metropolitan Museum of Art this week, it is a museum that attracts more than five million visitors a year which is actually more than any other place in New York City. With as fond of Ancient Egyptian culture as I am I spent quite a bit of time in that area. While I knew beforehand that mummies were in sarcophagus upon sarcophagus it intrigued me to see them displayed like this, it reminded me of Russian Matryoshka Dolls.
In ancient Egypt blue was symbolic of the sky, water and also the Nile, Amon was often shown with a blue face to symbolize his creation of the world; by extension the Pharaohs were often shown with blue faces as well.
On a different level were these two magnificent statues with the arched entries behind them, it is completely awe-inspiring to stand next to something that has been around for thousands of years.
This is a closer view of the ancient archways and in the second one you can see the tops are carved like lotus blossoms; both blue and white blossoms were sacred and were associated with beliefs concerning death and the afterlife.
As you entered the archways you can see the many hieroglyphs carved onto them and you are very appreciative both the time and effort that went into these beautiful designs.
Who doesn’t love a Sphinx? In ancient Egypt Sphinx’s were benevolent mythical creatures that were thought of as a guardians and often flanked the entrances to temples and tombs.
As we move out of Egypt I had to get a picture of this mosaic fountain, the vibrancy of its colors and the depth they created were simply astounding.
When I was a teenager my mother bought me a poster that was of this Tiffany Stained-glass, as I was walking by it I was so taken by how amazing it looked when lit up from behind and while I love all things Tiffany; this will forever hold a special place in my heart.
This gate was magnificent in both size and structure but what came to mind immediately for me was, “Boy, I bet my parents wish they’d had something like this to keep me from sneaking out when I was in high school!” … heeheehee!
Next time we will continue with a different era in time, when powdered faces and fake beauty marks were all the rage.